Titanium alloy intraosseous anesthesia delivery device

ABSTRACT

An intraosseous delivery apparatus having a drilling member and a sleeve member. The drilling member includes a drill housing, a connecting portion for establishing a connection to a conventional dental drilling apparatus, and a drill extending from the drill housing. The sleeve member includes a sleeve housing, and a hollow sleeve extending from the sleeve housing. The sleeve housing is adapted to be removably engaged with the drill housing such that the drill is inserted into the hollow sleeve. The drill has a length such that when the drill is inserted into the hollow sleeve, a portion of the drill extends beyond the hollow sleeve. As a result, when the drill is used to drill a hole in bone, the drill is inserted deeper into the hole than the hollow sleeve. The hollow sleeve is adapted to be left inserted in the bone when the drill is removed therefrom. The “in place” hollow sleeve is also adapted to receive a syringe needle through which anesthesia may be directly introduced into the bone via an exposed bottom portion of the drilled hole as well as via exposed side-wall portions of the drilled hole. The drill is preferably smooth, and may also be hollow so that debris generated during drilling enters the interior of the drill. In this case, when the hollow drill is removed from the hollow sleeve, the debris within the hollow drill may also be removed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an improved disposable deliverysystem for intraosseously delivering anesthesia to the jawbone or otherparts of the living body. In particular, the present invention relatesto an improvement of the disposable intraosseous anesthesia deliveryapparatus and method disclosed in earlier U.S. application Ser. No.09/165,010 and earlier PCT Application US99/07728, the entire contentsof both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention is described in detail below with respectto application of dental anesthesia, but the invention is applicable todelivery of anesthesia or other fluids to other parts of a living body,either human or animal. In particular, the present invention isapplicable to other surgical procedures such as, for example, orthopedicsurgical procedures. Thus, although the invention is described in detailwith respect to delivery of dental anesthesia, the invention is notintended to be limited to use only in connection with dental procedures.

[0003] In general, anesthesia is delivered by injection of a topicalanesthetic followed by a deeper injection of anesthetic fordesensitizing nerve endings within the region of interest (infiltration)or for blocking off remote sensory nerves which are coupled to theregion of interest (nerve blocking).

[0004] It is desirable to minimize the amount of anesthesia injectedbecause toxic reactions may result from drug sensitivity or misdirectionof the injection needle into the bloodstream. Such risk of toxicreaction is heightened when repeated administration of anesthesia asrequired, as is often the case with conventional delivery techniques. Inaddition, conventional administration of dental anesthesia generallyresults in numbness of the tongue, cheek, lips and/or even part of theface of the patient for some time after a procedure.

[0005] As set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,677 to Alexandre,conventional methods of delivering dental anesthesia include injectioninto mucous tissue, injection into a ligament, injection into the septumand injection near a nerve-trunk. However, injection into mucous tissueis disadvantageous because it takes a long time for the anesthesia totake effect (about 5 minutes), because the amount of anesthesia is high(about 4 cc), and because adrenalin or another vaso conductor isrequired for cardiac patients. Injection into a ligament isdisadvantageous because it requires high pressure for injection (whichcauses pain), because injection is into a septic area, because the riskof infection of the ligament is increased, and because the risk ofpost-operative problems including inflammation and necrosis isincreased. Injection into the septum is disadvantageous because it alsorequires high pressure for injection (which causes pain), because exactpositioning of the needle is required, and because injection is into aseptic area. And finally, injection near the nerve-trunk isdisadvantageous because there is a long delay in effecting anesthesia(about 10 minutes), because there is a high risk of inadvertentinjection into a blood vessel, and because post-operative numbness isvery long lasting.

[0006] Intraosseous delivery of dental anesthesia directly into thejawbone is also known. Intraosseous delivery is extremely advantageousbecause it very rapidly achieves numbness limited only to the tooth tobe treated, because it enables the amount of anesthetic to besignificantly reduced, and because postoperative numbness is essentiallyavoided. The most relevant prior art intraosseous delivery techniquesare described hereinbelow.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 2,317,648 to Siqveland discloses an intraosseousdelivery apparatus and method whereby a threaded sleeve isconcentrically and removably positioned around a drill. The drill andthreaded sleeve are used together to penetrate the bone, and then thedrill is detached and withdrawn, leaving the threaded sleeve embedded inthe bone as a guide for a hypodermic needle through which anesthesia maybe injected. After injection of anesthesia, the threaded sleeve iswithdrawn from the bone by reverse rotation. The threaded sleevedisclosed in Siqveland, however, is too expensive to manufacture to bedisposable and must be inserted at a slow speed due to the threading. Inaddition, the drill disclosed in Siqveland is solid, so that debriswhich is generated by the drill is left in the drilled hole, therebyreducing absorption of the anesthesia into the jawbone.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,677 to Alexandre discloses an intraosseousdelivery apparatus and method whereby a smooth, hollow drilling needleis used to drill a hole into the jawbone near the apex of a tooth to beanesthetized. The drilling needle is then removed from the jawbone and ahypodermic needle of substantially the same gauge as the drilling needleis then inserted into the hole formed in the jawbone using a single dropof blood formed during drilling as a marker for entrance to the hole.After the hypodermic needle is inserted into the hole, anesthesia isthen delivered by injection directly into the jawbone. This technique,however, is disadvantageous because in actual practice it is verydifficult to find the drilled hole and insert the hypodermic needletherein.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,824 to Akerfeldt et al discloses a method ofaccessing a hard tissue whereby a needle drill is inserted into andthrough a cannula and then used to drill a hole in hard tissue. Thedistal end of the needle drill has/eccentrically shaped tip, so that thedrilled hole has a larger diameter than the needle drill and thecannula. After the hole is drilled, the cannula is inserted into theoversized hole. The needle drill is then removed, and the cannula isleft secured in the bone to act as a guiding channel for sampling oradministration of drugs. The needle drill of Akerfeldt et al, however,has a solid drilling tip, so that as in the case of Sigveland, debriswhich is generated by the drilling tip of the needle drill is left inthe drilled hole. Thus, if the method of Akerfeldt et al were used forthe injection of anesthesia, the absorption of the anesthesia would bereduced. In addition, drilling of an enlarged hole as taught byAkerfeldt results in more bone removal, a higher degree of heatgeneration during drilling, more trauma to the patient, a longer healingtime, and a higher risk of infection. Still further, because the holedrilled by Akerfeldt is oversized, the cannula is only loosely fitted inthe drilled hole, and injected anesthesia may leak backwards out of thehard tissue.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,639 to Gibbs discloses an apparatus andmethod for intraosseously delivering anesthesia whereby a solid rod isinserted into a perforating catheter, and the assembled rod andperforating catheter are used to perforate ligament or bone tissue.After drilling, the rod is removed and the perforating catheter is leftin place to be used as a guide for insertion of a hypodermic needle. InGibbs, the drilling needle is the outside member (i.e., the perforatingcatheter), and the rod which is inserted into the perforating catheteris used to prevent debris resulting from drilling from blocking thepassage in the perforating catheter. The advantage of this technique isthat the perforating catheter remains clear for injection of anesthesia,but the disadvantage is that, as in Siqveland and Akerfeldt et al, thedebris which is generated by the drilling is left in the drilled hole,thereby reducing absorption of the anesthesia into the jawbone. Andbecause the drilling needle of Gibbs is the outside member and bottomsin the drilled hole, the bottom portion of the drilled hole is large. Asin Akerfeldt et al, this results in more bone removal, a higher degreeof heat generation during drilling, more trauma to the patient, a longerhealing time, and a higher risk of infection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improveddisposable delivery apparatus and method for intraosseously deliveringanesthesia in a simple, easy and effective manner. In particular, it isan object of the present invention to provide an improved disposabledelivery apparatus and method capable of directly introducing anesthesiainto a hole drilled in a bone via an increased exposed bone surface areawhich is free of drilling debris, while significantly reducing thediameter of the distal end of the drilled hole. Increasing the exposedbone surface area enables greater absorption of the anesthesia, andreducing the diameter of the distal end of the drilled hole results inless bone removal, less heat generation during drilling, less patienttrauma, a shorter healing time, and a reduced risk of infection.

[0012] In order to achieve the above objects, the intraosseous deliveryapparatus of the present invention comprises a drilling member and asleeve member. The drilling member includes a drill housing, aconnecting portion for establishing a connection to a conventionaldental drilling apparatus, and a drill extending from the drill housing.The sleeve member includes a sleeve housing, and a hollow sleeveextending from the sleeve housing. The sleeve housing is adapted to beremovably engaged with the drill housing such that the drill is insertedinto the hollow sleeve. The drill has a length such that when the drillis inserted into the hollow sleeve, a portion of the drill extendsbeyond the hollow sleeve. As a result, when the drill is used to drill ahole in bone, the drill is inserted deeper into the hole than the hollowsleeve. The hollow sleeve is adapted to be left inserted in the bonewhen the drill is removed therefrom. The “in place” hollow sleeve isalso adapted to receive a syringe needle through which anesthesia may bedirectly introduced into the bone via an exposed bottom portion of thedrilled hole as well as via exposed side-wall portions of the drilledhole. The drill is preferably smooth, and may also be hollow so thatdebris generated during drilling enters the interior of the drill. Inthis case, when the hollow drill is removed from the hollow sleeve, thedebris within the hollow drill may also be removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a drilling member and asleeve member according to the present invention in an assembled state.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled drilling member andsleeve member, and a disposal casing into which the drilling member andsleeve member may be removably inserted.

[0015]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the drilling member coupledto a conventional dental drilling apparatus, and a protective memberbeing removed from the sleeve member.

[0016]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drilling member being removedfrom the sleeve member.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of an alternative embodimentwhich is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, except that thedrill is solid.

[0018]FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of an alternative embodimentwherein the drilling member and the sleeve member are adapted to becoupled in a “male/female” configuration opposite to that shown in FIGS.1-5.

[0019]FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the drilling member and thesleeve member of FIG. 6 in a connected state.

[0020]FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing an alternativealignment of the leading edges of the drill and the hollow sleeve whenthe drill is inserted into the sleeve.

[0021]FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of a portion of a sleeve accordingto an alternative embodiment wherein the sleeve has a serrated leadingedge.

[0022]FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view showing another alternativeembodiment of the sleeve (with the drill inserted therein) wherein thesleeve has a substantially horizontal leading edge having a roughsurface.

[0023]FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 11-11 shownin FIG. 10 (without showing the drill).

[0024]FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view showing another alternativeembodiment of the sleeve (with the drill inserted therein) wherein thesleeve has a tapered leading edge having a rough or smooth surface.

[0025]FIG. 13 is a side view of a portion of a sleeve according toanother alternative embodiment wherein the sleeve has grooves formed onan outer surface thereof.

[0026]FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 14-14 shown in FIG.13.

[0027]FIG. 15 is an enlarged side view of a drill having a compoundoblique cutting edge surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the disposable anesthesia delivery apparatusof the present invention comprises a drilling member 1 and a sleevemember 2. The drilling member 1 comprises a drill housing 3, a shaft 4extending from the drill housing 3, a drill 5 embedded in the shaft 4and extending through the drill housing 3, and a connecting portion 6for connecting the drilling member 1 to a conventional dental drillingapparatus. The sleeve member 2 comprises a sleeve housing 7 having aflared opening 9, and a hollow sleeve 8 extending from the sleevehousing 7.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the drilling member 1 and the sleeve member 2may be coupled together such that the drill 5 is inserted into thehollow sleeve 8. The drill 5 has a length such that a portion of thedrill 5 extends beyond the hollow sleeve 8 by a length l₁. The length l₁may, for example, range from as small as 0.2 mm to about 7 mm. Thelength l₁ is more preferably between about 2 mm and about 4 mm, and ismost preferably about 3 mm. The hollow sleeve 8 preferably extends fromthe sleeve housing 7 by a length l₂ of between about 3 mm and about 9mm, and the hollow sleeve 8 preferably extends from the sleeve housing 7by a length l₃ of between about 9 mm and about 10 mm.

[0030] The drill 5 may be hollow as shown in FIG. 1, or solid as shownin FIG. 5, and the drill 5 may also be flexible or rigid. Morespecifically, the drill 5 may, for example, be a standard stainlesssteel 27 gauge regular wall needle having an oblique cutting edge 10.Typically, a 27 gauge regular wall needle has an outer diameter of about0.4 mm, and an inner diameter of about 0.25 mm. Alternatively, as shownin FIG. 5, the drill 105 may be a solid member made of a metal such assurgical stainless steel having substantially the same outer diameter asthe hollow drill 5 of about 0.4 mm. Other dimensions for each of thehollow drill 5 and solid drill 105 could also be used.

[0031] The drill 5/105 preferably has a smooth outer surface so as toenable a high rotational drilling speed to be utilized and so as toreduce damage to the gums or other tissues during drilling. The drillhousing 3, shaft 4 and connecting portion 6, moreover, may be formed ofa surgical grade high impact poly-styrene with 20% calcium carbon oranother substantially rigid plastic, with the drill 5/105 being insertmolded in the shaft 4.

[0032] The sleeve 8 may, for example, be a standard syringe-typestainless steel needle having a 23 gauge thin wall. Typically, a 23gauge regular wall needle has an outer diameter of about 0.62 mm, and aninner diameter of about 0.42 mm. The sleeve 8, like the drill 5/105preferably has a smooth outer surface, and the sleeve housing 7, likethe drill housing 3, may be formed of a surgical grade high impactpolystyrene with 20% calcium carbon or another substantially rigidplastic, with the sleeve 8 being insert molded in the sleeve housing 7.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, the drill housing 3 comprises an opening 16into which a projecting portion 17 of the sleeve housing 7 may beremovably inserted. This coupling may, however, be reversed. That is, asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the drill housing 103 may comprise a projectingportion 116 which may be removably inserted into an opening 117 of thesleeve housing 107.

[0034] As disclosed in detail in earlier U.S. application Ser. No.09/165,010 and earlier PCT Application US99/07728, the drilling member 1and the sleeve member 2 are preferably coupled together in anon-rotational manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the sleevemember 2 may include an essentially square-shaped projection 14 whichmay be frictionally fitted within an essentially square cross sectionalopen portion 15 of the drilling member 1. As a result, a rotationaldriving force may be applied from the conventional dental drillingapparatus via the drilling member 1 to the sleeve member 2. Of course,other mating shapes can be used to achieve the non-rotational couplingand to enable the rotational driving force to be applied from theconventional dental drilling apparatus via the drilling member 1 to thesleeve member 2.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, the drilling member 1 and the sleeve member 2are preferably pre-assembled together and removably stored in a storageand disposal casing 11. A protective member 12 may be removably formedon the sleeve housing 7 via break away points 13. The protective member12 serves to protect a user from being inadvertently stabbed by thedrill 5 and the sleeve 8. After usage, the drilling member 1 and sleevemember 2 may be reinserted into the casing 11 for safe disposal.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the assembled drilling member 1 and sleevemember 2 may be removably coupled to a conventional dental drillingapparatus, and the protective member 12 broken away at break away points13 to expose the sleeve 8 and the drill 5 extending therethrough. Theconventional dental drilling apparatus may then be operated to apply arotational driving force for driving the drill 5 to drill a hole in thejawbone of a patient. In addition, a pressing force may also be appliedto assist the drilling operation.

[0037] The pressing force and rotational driving force are applied untilthe flange 16 of the sleeve member 2 presses against or contacts thegums of the patient, thereby ensuring that the drill 5 has been fullyinserted in the drilled hole. The surface of the flange 16 is preferablysmooth and has rounded edges so as to not to damage the gums or othertissue of the patient during the drilling operation. In addition, theface of the flange 16 is preferably convex, so that the sleeve member 2can be rockingly leveraged when the sleeve member 2 is later removedfrom the bone.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, respectively, the drill 5 and drill105 are dimensioned to substantially fill the hollow sleeve 8. Thus,during drilling, the drill 5/105 serves to prevent cuttings and otherdebris generated by the drilling from entering between the exterior ofthe drill 5/105 and the interior of the hollow sleeve 8. As a result,when the drill 5/105 is removed from the hollow sleeve 8, a clearconduit into the interior of the bone of the patient may be establishedvia the hollow sleeve 8.

[0039] In addition, if, as shown in FIG. 1, the drill 5 is hollow, asthe drill 5 drills the hole in the bone of the patient, at least some ofthe debris generated by the drilling will enter the interior of thedrill 5. As a result, when the drill 5 is removed from the sleeve 8, thedebris within the hollow drill 5 may also be removed. This will help tomaintain the drilled hole free of debris, so that the anesthesia orother fluid to be injected will be more easily and directly absorbedinto the bone.

[0040] The conventional dental drilling apparatus is preferably operatedto rotate the drill 5/105 at about 20,000 rpm during the drillingprocedure. However, speeds of about 10,000 to 25,000 rpm can be usedwith varying degrees of efficiency. As mentioned hereinabove, such highrotational speeds can be utilized because the drill 5/105 preferably hasa smooth outer surface. With the drill 5/105 rotating at such highspeeds, the hole in the bone can be quickly and painlessly drilled.Other speeds, for example below 10,000 rpm or above 25,000 rpm can alsobe used depending upon the specific application.

[0041] As the drill 5/105 drills the hole in the bone of the patient, adistal end of the sleeve 8 is caused to ream the drilled hole. This canbe achieved in several ways. Namely, since the drilling member 1 and thesleeve member 2 are preferably non-rotationally coupled together, therotational driving force applied by the dental drilling apparatus to thedrilling member 1 will be conveyed to the sleeve member 2 torotationally drive the distal end of the sleeve 8 to ream the drilledhole. Alternatively and/or additionally, the manual pressing forceapplied to the drill will cause the distal end the sleeve 8 to ream thedrilled hole. In either or both case the reaming action ensures that thedistal end of the sleeve E will be securely and tightly fitted into thedrilled hole.

[0042] Once the drilling operation is completed, the drilling member 1is disengaged from the sleeve member 2 and the drill 5/105 is withdrawnfrom the sleeve 8. (See, for example, FIG. 4.) This is achieved, forexample, by exerting a rearward withdrawal force on the drilling member1 in the direction of arrow A while the sleeve member 2 is held inplace. The sleeve member 2 may be held in place by pressing aspecialized dental instrument or the U-shaped end 19 of the protectivemember 12 against the flange 16.

[0043] Significantly, because the drill 5/105 has a length such that thedrill 5 extends beyond the distal end of the sleeve 8 during drilling,the drill 5/105 is inserted deeper into the drilled hole than the distalend of the sleeve 8. As a result, when the drilling member 1 isdisengaged from the sleeve member 2 and the drill 5/105 is withdrawnfrom the sleeve 8, the distal end of the sleeve 8 will only be partlyinserted into the drilled hole. That is, the hole will have been drilleddeeper than the extent of insertion of the sleeve 8 in the hole. Thiswill leave an increased exposed bone surface area, including the exposedbottom portion of the drilled hole and exposed side-wall portions at thedistal end portion of the drilled hole which extends beyond the sleeve8. As a result, the anesthesia or other fluid to be injected will have alarger surface area through which to be absorbed into the bone.

[0044] In addition, because the outer diameter of the drill 5/105 is notgreater than the outer diameter of the sleeve 8, the distal end portionof the drilled hole which extends beyond the sleeve 8 will also have asmaller diameter than the outer diameter of the sleeve 8. As a result,the diameter at the distal end of the drilled hole at the inner portionof the bone is reduced, thereby resulting in less bone removal, lessheat generation during drilling, less patient trauma, a shorter healingtime, and a reduced risk of infection.

[0045] After the drilling member 1 is disengaged from the sleeve member2 and the drill 5/105 is withdrawn from the sleeve 8, a conventionalsyringe may then be used to inject an anesthetic or other fluid into theinterior of the bone via the hollow sleeve 8. More specifically, asyringe needle is inserted through the flared opening 9 of the sleevemember 2 and into the hollow sleeve 8. The syringe needle must, ofcourse, have a gauge which is smaller than the inner diameter of thehollow sleeve 8 so that the syringe needle may be inserted into thehollow sleeve 8. Preferably, a sufficient clearance is provided betweenthe hollow sleeve 8 and the syringe needle such that a build up ofpressure is avoided when injecting the anesthetic or other fluid and sothat the syringe needle may be easily removed from the hollow sleeve 8.However, the syringe needle should be fitted sufficiently tightly withinthe hollow sleeve 8 so as to avoid back leakage of injected anestheticor other fluid therebetween. For example, the syringe needle may, likethe drill 5/105, be a standard stainless steel 27 gauge regular wallneedle having substantially the same outer diameter as the drill 5/105.

[0046] Preferably, the sleeve member 2 projects no more than about 5 mmfrom the gum surface when the device is used in dental applications.Thus, the sleeve member 2 is sufficiently small and unobtrusive so asnot to interfere with the dental procedure which is being performed. Inmost cases, the sleeve member 2 may be left inserted in the jawbone ofthe patient throughout the dental procedure. Accordingly, additionalanesthetic or other fluid may be applied, if and when necessary, via thehollow sleeve 8 which is left inserted in the bone of the patient.

[0047] At the end of the procedure, the sleeve 8 may be removed from thebone of the patient either by manually pulling the housing 7 of thesleeve member 2 or by using a pliers-type or U-shaped tool adapted togrip a portion of the sleeve member 2.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1-7, the cutting edge 10 of the drill 5/105 andthe leading edge 18 of the sleeve 8 are oblique and aligned with eachother. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the oblique cutting edge 10 and theoblique leading edge 18 may be aligned opposite to each other. Theoblique cutting edge 10 and the oblique leading edge 18 are preferablyground 45-20 degrees relative to the longitudinal axes of the drill5/105 and the sleeve 8, respectively. Other alignments, angles, and/ordrilling and reaming edge configurations are also possible.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 9, for example, the sleeve 8 may be providedwith a substantially horizontal serrated leading edge 118, or as shownin FIG. 10, the sleeve 8 may be provided with a substantially horizontalleading edge 218 having a rough surface. The rough surface of theleading edge 218 is shown in FIG. 11 (enlarged and without showing thedrill 5/105). The rough surface may be formed, for example, bysandblasting or by impact with a sharp or pointed object. In addition,as shown in FIG. 12, the sleeve 8 may be provided with a tapered leadingedge 318 having a rough or smooth surface. The advantage of the taperingis that debris generated during drilling may be deflected backward awayfrom the drilled hole.

[0050] As described hereinabove, the sleeve 8 preferably has a smoothouter surface. However, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the sleeve 8 mayhave grooves 20 formed on the outer surface thereof. The grooves 20 maybe provided to assist removal of the debris generated during drillingout of and away from the drilled hole.

[0051] Still further, as shown in FIG. 15, the drill 5/105 may have acutting edge 110 having a compound oblique surface made up of surfaceportions 111 and 112 which have different angles relative to thelongitudinal axis of the drill 5/105.

[0052] Other combinations of the above described oblique, compoundoblique, substantially horizontal, rough, smooth and/or tapered leadingand cutting edges are also possible.

[0053] According to the present invention as described hereinabove, adirect, reusable communication path is established and maintained intothe bone of the patient which enables simple injection and/orre-injection of anesthetic or other fluid directly into the bone via anincreased exposed bone surface area which is free of drilling debris.The anesthetic or other fluid can therefore be more efficiently absorbeddirectly into the bone, so that the dosage can be reduced while at thesame time producing a more rapid and shorter term effect. According tothe present invention, moreover, even though the absorption area isincreased, the diameter of the distal end of the drilled hole isreduced, thereby resulting in less bone removal, less heat generationduring drilling, less patient trauma, a shorter healing time, and areduced risk of infection.

[0054] Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broaderaspects is not limited to the specific details, representative devices,and illustrated uses and examples shown and described herein.Accordingly, various features of the respectively disclosed embodimentscan be used with other embodiments, and various modifications andcombinations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe general inventive concept of the present invention as defined by theappended claims and their equivalents. In particular, it is pointed outthat in all the embodiments shown in the drawings, the drill may besolid or hollow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An intraosseous fluid delivery apparatuscomprising a perforating member adapted to be coupled to a drill,wherein the perforating member is made of a titanium alloy comprising atleast 10% titanium.
 2. The intraosseous fluid delivery apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the titanium alloy comprises at least 40%titanium.
 3. The intraosseous fluid delivery apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the titanium alloy is a NITINOL alloy comprising55%-56% nickel and 44%-45% titanium.
 4. The intraosseous fluid deliveryapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the titanium alloy consists of44% titanium and 56% nickel and no other appreciable amount of any otheringredient.
 5. An intraosseous delivery method comprising: removablycoupling a perforating member to a drill; applying a bone penetrationforce from the drill to the perforating member so as to drill a hole ina bone; and introducing a fluid directly into the hole drilled in thebone; wherein the perforating member is made of a titanium alloycomprising at least 10% titanium.
 6. The intraosseous delivery methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the bone penetration force is applied byrotating the perforating member at a speed between approximately 2000rpm and approximately 20,000 rpm.
 7. The intraosseous delivery methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the bone penetration force is applied byrotating the perforating member at a speed of approximately 10,000 rpm.